The Orange Trees of Versailles by Annie Pietri

When Marion Dutilleul enters the service of the Marquise de Montespan, she never imagines that her ability to recognize scents and to blend them into perfumes will win her the favor of Louis XIV’s mistress. But the marquise quickly has the young girl creating new perfumes for her. Eager to please and hopeful that her olfactory gifts will win her recognition, Marion concocts memorable fragrances. Then, to her horror, credit is bestowed on someone else. Marion feels betrayed.

Now Marion opens her eyes and ears (in addition to her nose!) and realizes that beneath the splendor of palace life is a place teeming with deceit. To survive, she must use her keen sense of smell not to create perfumes, but to thwart those who would do her—and one of France’s beloved monarchs—great harm.

Unrated Critic Reviews for The Orange Trees of Versailles

Publishers Weekly

Not content to play second fiddle to the queen, the marquise orders Marion—who has a remarkable memory for scents—to concoct perfumes that will drive the Sun King wild while the mistress devises a plan to get rid of the queen permanently.